Sears Homes

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Sears Homes Old Catalog. The Old House Web Editor's note: Rosemary Thornton is one of the country's leadingexperts on Sears catalog homes.

Here are excerpts of her new book, "The Houses That Sears Built: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sears Catalogue Homes," published in 2002 by Gentle Beam Publications, P. O. Box 1392, Alton, IL 62002. By Rosemary Thornton. Interior and Exterior. Oils well that ends well…
When oil prices started up last winter, I started to panic.

In three months’ time, we burned more than $1,600 in fuel oil. At the end of January 2011, Mr. Oil Fill-Man appeared in my back yard (a scant 27 days after his last visit), to fill the tank - again. “We’re taking 160+ gallons of fuel oil each time you come by,” I told him. “Is that normal for this area?” “Yes M’am,” he replied. Talking with two of my neighbors, I’d found that they’d converted from old oil boilers (about the same age as mine), to high-efficiency tankless gas-fired boilers.

We’ve not yet seen the first winter with this fancy new system, but in the meantime, we had trouble finding someone to haul away the remaining 65 gallons of heating oil in the tank. And then I discovered Allan. Allan is a mechanical engineer and watching him work was a pleasure.
Why Is The Porch Ceiling Blue. Old houses often contain many mysteries.

It’s our 21st Century paradigm (and ignorance of recent history) that makes our old homes seem “mysterious.” Take ice boxes, for instance. We’re just one or two generations away from these once-modern marvels, and yet most of us baby boomers know little about them! If fact, most post-WW2 folks know very little about day-to-day life in the early 20th Century.

Discovering the answers to those “old house mysteries” can be pretty darn fun (and satisfying, too). During the open house here at Gosnold, someone was puzzled by the funny little door in my home’s pantry. The “funny little door” was an access door for the ice man.
The House My Ancestors Bought at Sears. The House My Ancestors Bought at Sears By: Nephi Henry As I imagine a lot of people do, I used to think of genealogy as one of the blandest, most tedious things a person could do.

The endless list of names and dates to be memorized, the stale pedigree charts, the distant places with names I couldn't pronounce—genealogy was too much for my busy 21st-century brain to keep track of, the kind of thing I'd have to store away in spreadsheets and could never really find a way to sink my teeth into. Then, one day, that very same 21st-century brain gave me my breakthrough into how personal and real genealogy can be.
Sears Modern Homes. Pictures of pretty, pretty Sears Homes in Atlanta (Acworth, Rebecca: middle-class, houses)
Recently, I went to Atlanta to look for Sears Homes.

In that I live in Norfolk, it was a long trip (but well worth it). A woman friend in Acworth (Nancy) invited me down there and then drove me around the area, and let me stay in her home. I couldn't have done this without her.
Georgia and Florida railroad « Ray City History Blog. Manassah W.

Henderson, Ray City, GA resident and husband of the evangelist Rebecca J. Henderson ( seeArson and Evangelism in Rays Mill, GA), was injured in a Valdosta train wreck in the summer of 1910. He was traveling on the Georgia and Florida train, the new railroad built through Ray City in 1909. The train was wrecked when an engine of the Georgia Southern & Florida railroad collided with the passenger car of the Georgia & Florida (see 1910 Train Wreck in Valdosta, GA). Many of the injured were taken to the Halcyon Sanitarium.
Sears Modern Home #119.

My dear friend Rebecca Hunter found a Sears Modern Home #119 in Iowa (in 2003) and she got a nice photo.

Other than that ONE house she found in Iowa, I’ve never laid eyes on a #119, which is pretty remarkable. But we know that there was one built in Martinez, Georgia, by R. T.
Georgia Historic Property - Victorian Homes, Colonial Homes, Greek Revival & Antebellum. Atlanta Georgia. For 12 years, I lived in Illinois and I spent many happy years seeking and finding kit homes throughout the Midwest.

In 2006, I moved back “home” to Virginia, and I’ve spent subsequent years looking for kit homes in the south. I’m surprised at how many I’ve found in this part of the country.
Sears Homes in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2010, I visited Atlanta, Georgia (and surrounding areas), where Nancy (an old house lover, kind soul and Acworth resident) drove me many miles seeking and finding kit homes.

Below are a few of the houses we found in the area. It’s likely that there are many more kit homes in Atlanta. Nancy and I devoted one day to photographing the Magnolia in Piedmont, Alabama (see photo below), and another day we went to small towns north of Atlanta. I’d love to return to Atlanta sometime soon and do a more thorough survey. If you know of a historical society and/or civic group that’d be interested in sponsoring my visit, please contact me by leaving a comment below.
Old-House Journal. Images of Sears Homes. Click on the associated link for a collection of images and photographs of almost all 447 house designs sold through the Sears Modern Homes program.

You can search the house listings by clicking on a group of years (1908–1914, 1915–1920, 1921–1926, 1927–1932 and 1933–1940). You will then see a thumbnail picture of each house, and next to it are the house name and/or model number, plus the price range. Click on the thumbnail to see a full-screen version of the Sears Modern Homes catalog page on which the house appeared and floor plans and descriptions (if available). If you do not know exactly which house you are looking for, be patient.
Illinois: Sears Catalog Homes (Local Legacies: Celebrating Community Roots - Library of Congress)
Kit Homes History. Topic: HISTORY OF MODULAR CONSTRUCTION - MODULAR HOMES Home Max Center.

Sears, Roebuck homes in the Historic West Side Neighborhood. In 1908, Sears, Roebuck added to their building materials department by offering kit homes. A prospective home builder would review the Modern Homes catalog and choose their model. Home materials would be usually shipped via railroad and carted to the building site. There are several Sears kit homes in the Historic West Side neighborhood. Many of these homes have not changed remarkably from their original appearance. The Ardara, on Fayette Street appeared in the catalog in this image shown on the right. Below is the home as it appears today: A Maplewood is on Walnut, near Laurel Methodist Church-- Then and Now....

Trolley Tour of Sears Homes in Downers Grove, Illinois. Sears House. Oh, how we love the old Sears house. The enormous influence of the railroad spurred the booming popularity of "kit homes" sold through the Sears and Roebuck Company. Over 70,000 "Sears Modern Homes" were sold in North America from 1908 to 1940. The one seen above is located in Reedville, Va. which also has a bunch of preserved Victorians. The houses were ordered out of a catalog with all the materials shipped via train to wherever they were going.

Richard Sears used to work as a railroad station manager and used the experience to help invent the mail-order business. Although they were called "Modern Homes" many of the plans depict renditions of earlier period house types. Frank W.
Aladdin, Sears, Lewis/Liberty, Gordon-Van Tine, Wardway. Kit houses were produced in the United States beginning in the first decade of the 20th century. Their popularity lasted into the 1950s, but their heyday was in the 1910s and 1920s. Seven national companies operated during in the period, along with many regional and local companies selling homes in kit form. Including:
Sears Homes Enthusiasts. Sears Homes of Illinois - Montgomery Wards Mail-Order Homes. Back in the day, Ladies Home Journal magazine was an important women’s magazine, designed to help women achieve that elusive but important goal of home-ownership.

(Today, it’s more about high-fat cake recipes and low-fat diets, but I digress.) In the first decade of the new century, Ladies’ Home Journal consistently featured a majority of articles centered on home-ownership. The February 1911 issue was devoted to the new housing style: Bungalows. One headline said, “The Bungalow, because of its easy housekeeping possibilities is becoming more popular every year and bungalows show what can be done with a little money wisely spent.” The same issue featured these articles: When you build a little house (common mistakes to avoid) How I built this house for $700 The Bungalow – from $250 – $2500 What I did with an old farmhouse Two houses built for less than $1500 What can be done with old houses A fireproof house for less than $4000 Craftsman houses and odd bungalows will have their day.

Kit Houses, National Trust for Historic Preservation Library Collection. Windows on the past. The Old House Web Editor's note: RosemaryThornton is one of the country's leading experts on Sears catalog homes. She'salso the author of a new book, "TheHouses That Sears Built: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About SearsCatalogue Homes," published in 2002 by GentleBeam Publications.

Text and Photos by Rosemary Thornton The year was 1918. Fueled by the opening of a new coal mine and post-World War I industrialism, Carlinville, Illinois experienced a population explosion. The solution to the resulting housing shortage was uniquely American - pre-cut kit homes ordered from Sears Roebuck & Co. catalogue sales. That money bought 192 houses: 156 for a twelve-block section of Carlinville and 36 more homes in nearby Wood River, Illinois, which also had a Standard Oil coal mine.

In the 80 plus years since, the resulting "instant town" has been through ups and downs (mostly downs). Building "The Standard Addition"
How to Identify a Sears Kit Home. Edit Article. Cairo, Illinois: When Bad Things Happen to Little Cities…
Sears Modern Homes In Illinois. The Sears Concord was a 1930s kit home that proved to be one of their most popular post-1929 houses.
‪WICS & Carlinville Sears Homes‬‏
‪Carlinville, Illinois Sears Houses‬‏
Carlinville's Standard Addition: $1M Worth of Sears Homes.

Sears Archives Home Page. Sears Catalog Home. A Dazzling Collection of Sears Homes in Northern Illinois. Illinois. The Sears Magnolia, offered from 1918-1922, seems to be a source of a much misinformation and confusion. Yesterday, someone sent me a link to another purported “Magnolia” in Watseka, IL (719 South Fourth Street). And then a member in our “Sears Homes” Facebook group showcased a quote from author Daniel Reiff (Houses from Books) stating that even though the house in Watseka is not a Sears Magnolia, it may have been an inspiration for the Sears architects. Built models might have also been an influence [for the Sears Magnolia].